College football New Year's Eve/Day bowls: Players to watch

The Fighting Irish will have several high-profile opt-outs which means other guys will need to step up if Notre Dame wants to end their drought of winning big-time bowl games. Quarterback Jack Coan, a senior, became a steadying force as the season went along despite sharing duties with his probable replacement, Tyler Buchner. Look for both to get their snaps in the Fiesta Bowl, but Coan has been solid in the Irish's final six games ... completing 73% of his passes and throwing 10 TDs.

Notre Dame faces Oklahoma State in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl on January 1st. 

NFL draft fans will definitely want to check out Corral, who could be the top quarterback taken in April's draft. With the league's trend toward finding a young (read: cheap) signal-caller to turn around their franchise, Corral could have a chance to vault himself into a top-five pick. Corral has ran Lane Kiffin's offense to a T despite fighting injuries all season. While people pay attention to his arm (3,33 9 yds, 20 TDs), he has also rushed for 597 yards and 11 touchdowns this year.

Ole Miss faces Baylor in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on January 1st.

LSU has had one of the weirdest seasons in recent memory and will end the year on a similar note. Ed Orgeron, who was fired mid-season but continued to coach the team, will not coach the team for their bowl game. LSU also has no idea who their quarterback is since starter Max Johnson entered the transfer portal (as did former starter Myles Brennan) and if Garrett Nussmeier plays he will lose his ability to redshirt this season (would they waste a season of eligibility on the Texas Bowl?). With the QB spot in question, the offense will run through Davis-Price, who piled up 1,003 yards and six touchdowns this season. He's a physical runner who looks for contact and enjoys squaring up against linebackers and defensive backs. Against Florida in mid-October, he rolled for 287 yards and three touchdowns.

LSU faces Kansas State in the TaxAct Texas Bowl on January 4th.

The Pac 12's Offensive Freshman of the Year led the conference in passing yards and passing touchdowns this season and ended Washington's near decade-long stranglehold on the Apple Cup. He's also become a local star with his brash, yet confident, style of play not only endearing fans but turning around a once-lost season. He has a huge future in Pullman.

Washington State faces Miami in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on December 31st. 

I'm excited for the Orange Bowl as this will look to be an old-school physical battle between two teams that want to get after it defensively. Butkus Award winner Nakobe Dean is the leader of Georgia's top-ranked defense with his intellect and his play. He is great at reading plays both pre-snap and as it is developing and has a knack at being at the right place at the right time. He'll be a star at the next level and will be one of the most valuable players in determining who the 2021-2022 national champion will be.

Georgia faces Michigan in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl on December 31st.

Penn State hasn't been able to run the ball well this season, so Sean Clifford-to-Jahan Dotson has been relied on to provide the offense. Dotson caught 91 passes for 1,182 yards and 12 touchdowns this season and has provided big games despite defenses geared to stop him. His 11-catch, 242-yard, 3 TD game against Maryland last month may be one of the best games a receiver has had this season.

Penn State faces Arkansas in the Outback Bowl on January 1st. 

There are so many storylines in Cincinnati's playoff game against Alabama on New Year's Eve. Buried below the obvious ones is former Alabama running back who transferred to Cincinnati two years ago. A backup with the Tide, Ford has flourished with the Bearcats this season. He's rushed for 1,242 yards and 19 touchdowns and has been a key part of having Cincinnati in the playoff. If the Bearcats plan on shocking the world with a win over the defending champs, Ford will need to be able to pick up first downs and control the clock. Ford needs a big game against his former team.

Cincinnati faces Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on December 31st. 

Hartman has had a brilliant season for the Demon Deacons. He's thrown for over 3,900 yards and 36 touchdowns this season and carried Wake Forest to the ACC's Atlantic Division title ... ending Clemson's five-year reign on the division and the first team other than the Tigers or Florida State to win it since 2008. Hartman really wants to get the taste of his turnover-heavy performance of last year's Duke's Mayo Bowl out of his mouth. In a loss to Wisconsin, Hartman threw four interceptions -- in four consecutive second-half drives -- after throwing just one all season. In his last game this season, Hartman threw four INTs in Wake's loss to Pittsburgh in the ACC title game. He'd love nothing more than to erase those ... demons.

Wake Forest faces Rutgers in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on December 31st.

The College Football Playoff will be about defense, and the best defensive player resides in Ann Arbor. Aidan Hutchinson was a Heisman finalist with good reason. He recorded 14 sacks and came up huge in the Wolverines' highest-profile game -- a win over Ohio State. Against the Buckeyes, he has three sacks as part of his seven tackles and his disruptive style could make him the top pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Michigan faces Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl on December 31st.

I know that watching a center doesn't seem to be a great way to spend a bowl game, but Linderbaum is a name to know. He won the Rimington Award as the best center in the country, Linderbaum is also great off the field. With the new NIL rules in effect, he raised money by selling clothing and other items and donated all his earnings to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. Players couldn't visit the hospital, which overlooks Kinnick Stadium, due to COVID so Linderbaum found a different way to help the children. He would wind up doubling his goal and raising $30,000 for the hospital. Now that's someone everyone can root for.

Iowa faces Kentucky in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl on January 1st.  

Nichols III led the nation in rushing this season, piling up 1,710 yards to go with his 14 touchdowns for the Chippewas. He is currently on a seven-game streak where he's rushed for at least 136 yards, which includes five games of at least 180 yards rushing. He's also become a workhorse back, carrying the ball 43 times against Kent State and 44 times in the season finale with Eastern Michigan.

Central Michigan faces Boise State in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl on December 31st. 

Kentucky has quietly become one of the better stories in college football, finishing second in the SEC East and a win away from just their fourth 10-win season ever. Rodriguez is second in the SEC in rushing and enters the Citrus Bowl on a roll. After a midseason swoon, he's broken off four straight 100-yard games and averaging 6.6 yards per carry.

Kentucky faces Iowa in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl on January 1st. 

Shakir has been a shining light in an otherwise "down" year for the Boise State program. The senior saved his best season for his last as he grabbed 77 catches for 1,117 yards and 7 touchdowns for the Broncos. He's a great route runner who is able to use his solid hands to catch passes in crossing routes as well as being a deep ball threat.

Boise State faces Central Michigan in the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl on December 31st.

If you've followed me this season, you know I've been on the Abram Smith bandwagon. He came to Baylor as a running back but switched to linebacker last season and played really well. He moved back to offense this season and finished second in the Big 12 in rushing yards and fourth in rushing touchdowns. He had a late-season stretch where he rushed for at least 125 yards in four straight games and has hit the 100-yard mark five times in his last seven games. Baylor wants to control the ball with a ground attack and Smith has shown an ability to get that done for the Big 12 champions.

Baylor faces Ole Miss in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on January 1st. 

Ohio State fell short of most of their goals this season. They failed to win the Big Ten East Division and in turn the Big Ten championship and a shot at a national championship. They're still in the Rose Bowl but it seems as if it doesn't mean as much as it used to. Word is that Ohio State couldn't sell its full allotment of tickets and sent thousands back, so we could be seeing a pro-Utah crowd in Pasadena. One person that is excited to be there is SoCal native C.J. Stroud, who had a fantastic freshman season. The Rancho Cucamonga native threw for 3,862 yards and 38 touchdowns this season and the only interceptions he's thrown over the last eight games was against Nebraska on November 6th. In his final three games, against ranked Purdue, Michigan State, and Michigan, he completed 79.5% of his passes for 1,187 yards and 13 touchdowns. Who knows what weapons he'll have at his disposal due to opt-outs, but look for Stroud to sling it at the Rose Bowl.

Ohio State faces Utah in the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Capital One Venture X on January 1st. 

Thomas has made a name for himself over the final month of the season, rumbling over and scooting by defenders and stacking up touchdowns at a frightening rate. Over his last five games -- all Utes wins -- he's rushed for at least 140 yards three times and has scored 14 of his 20 touchdowns this season. Thomas, who briefly lived out of his car in Dayton less than a year ago, gets to face an Ohio State defense who we last saw get torched by Michigan's Hassan Haskins for 169 yards and five TDs. This is Utah's biggest bowl stage -- they did play in the Sugar Bowl under Kyle Whittinghman and a Fiesta Bowl under Urban Meyer -- as the Rose Bowl is the premier non-CFP event in college football. Look for a surging Utah program to shine.

Utah faces Ohio State in the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Capital One Venture X on January 1st.   

The season began with quarterback D'Eriq King and his innovative NIL dealings but ends with Tyler Van Dyke ready to lead The U into their next era of 'Canes football. After throwing three picks in a loss to North Carolina in mid-October, Van Dyke has reeled off six 300-yard games, 20 TDs, and just 3 picks in leading Miami to a 5-1 record. With the new Mario Cristobal era arriving after the Sun Bowl, look for the Hurricanes to take a big first step on New Year's Eve.

Miami faces Washington State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on December 31st. 

Vaughn is an exciting back who is entering the Texas Bowl on a streak of five straight 100-yard games and four straight 120-yard games. He's a smaller back (just 5'6) who has an ability to break a long run at any time and he's also a factor in the passing game. He's scored a TD in 11 of the Wildcats' 12 games this season. Seeing this allusive back go up against a speedy SEC defense will be fun. The final bowl game of the season will cleanse the palate for the College Football Playoff championship game.

Kansas State faces LSU in the TaxAct Texas Bowl on January 4th.

Warren, the Cowboys' leading rusher, missed Oklahoma State's Big 12 championship game loss to Baylor which knocked them out of the College Football Playoff. He began the season as the Pokes' workhorse back, averaging 24.7 carries per game over the first six games of the season and putting up four 100-yard games. In his last six games, he's carried the ball just 14.8 times a game and hit the century mark just once. In what should be a defensive battle against Notre Dame, look for a healthy Warren to get more touches.

Oklahoma State faces Notre Dame in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl on January 1st.

Of course, when you are in a playoff, having the best player is a huge advantage. Young won the Heisman Trophy in his first season as a starter. He's fourth in the nation in passing yards (4,322) and second to Bailey Zappe's record-setting season in touchdown passes (43) while throwing just four interceptions ... showing poise as a freshman. With receiver John Metchie III out for the season, look for the Young to have to use his running ability a bit more and explore his other receiving options as Alabama attempts to repeat as national champs.

Alabama faces Cincinnati in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on December 31st.